A film review by Sonya McCloud

Emma Needell’s LIFE RENDERED shares a story of a sublime and beautiful coming together of two very different worlds, the farmhouse which is planted in a vast expanse of breath-taking green rolling countryside and the other an escapism into a pixelated world somewhere in the ether.

A story of a sublime and beautiful coming together of two very different worlds

Writer and director Emma Needell using the cattle ranch where she grew up as a backdrop, exposes the conservative stranglehold of ‘Macho,’ that is expected from folk who live in this environment and the son Mark, played by Owen Teague who expresses his character’s despair of being different, very well indeed.

The film is a wonderful blend of the real world and technology and throughout keeps the viewer captivated; the dream world is a glorious heady mix of colour, dazzling lights and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The film would greatly benefit being made into a feature as the message of change is needed to achieve the cultural shift. A great Oscar contender.